Adventures of the Zolaria Caravan
by Korean Boron-Paper Stars
Summary: The eight new members of Zolaria's caravan are definitely something else! Follow the adventures of Mikira, the Selkie leader, and his friends as they journey for myrrh, meet other caravans, and get into a whole lot of trouble! Discontinued
1. Meeting the Caravanners

Adventures of the Zolaria Caravan  
  
A/N: Okay, this is story is companion to three other stories that my friends are going to put up, but this one's coming up first.  
  
A/N 2: The town elder in this fic isn't Roland. He's the elder of another town. By the way, you know your in-game family? Well, I ran out of a few parent and sibling names, so I created some of my own. But their appearances are still the same as the in-game family members. Confused? It's like this: we might run out of names for a Clavat father or the older Selkie sister, so we might make up names for them, but keep their appearances the same as the usual. Got it? Good.  
  
Disclaimer: My friends and I don't own Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, but we do own the members of the Zolaria caravan and any other original, unheard caravans and characters here (we'll clarify them later).  
  
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Chapter 1: Meeting the Caravanners  
  
In the distant riverside town of Zolaria, the morning sun was rising slowly but surely. Yes, it seemed like a new, bright, day. Today was the day that the Zolaria caravan would set out, once again, in search for myrrh. The town elder, Yestro, stared at the great crystal in the center of the town from his house.  
  
"Once again, our caravan must set out in search for myrrh," he whispered to himself. "I hope that they'll be okay. . ."  
  
"For the fifth freaking time, no!"  
  
"Then what is it!"  
  
"Are you even a Selkie!"  
  
A short pause, then, "Well, I was the last time I checked. Did I turn into a Lilty when I was sleeping? Let me check!"  
  
"Don't bother, you retard!" An exasperated sigh, then, "How can we be related? How can you be a Selkie?"  
  
Yestro snapped his attention away from the crystal and directed it to the house next door, the blacksmith's. Sure enough, a few seconds later, a male Wolfie Selkie stepped out, a rather stupid grin on his face. Standing next to him was a Selkie girl with her hair up. She looked very frustrated. The male Selkie, on the other hand, was oblivious to the fact that he was making his sister mad. . . Or was he? Yestro sighed a bit. Mikira was quite an enigma. He appeared to be completely stupid, but he was quite intelligent when it was necessary. . .which wasn't quite often.  
  
"Mikira! Foo Kloo, hello!" Yestro called out to them. "It's a nice day. Have you come early today?"  
  
"Actually, no," Foo Kloo answered. "I'm trying to get this idiot away from me."  
  
"Hey, I'm an idiot!" Mikira said. "Is she talking about me? Huh? Huh? Huh?"  
  
"Yes, Mikira, I am talking about you," Foo Kloo retorted, annoyed.  
  
This feud between the two Selkies was very common. It happened almost every day. Mikira, the blacksmith's only son, was fifteen, but he acted like he was ten. . .or younger, maybe. Foo Kloo, his sister, was seventeen, only two years older than Mikira. She mainly disliked Mikira's non-Selkie-like personality. Yestro and the others adults of the village had basically given up trying to stop their fights and educate Mikira in Selkie history. Yes, he didn't even know anything about Selkie history.  
  
"You two are so funny!" Zai Lei, a female Wolfie Selkie from the alchemist family, giggled lightly and she continued, "Don't torture your sister so much, Mikira!"  
  
". . .Eh. . ." Mikira pretended to look clueless, then he said abruptly, "Ow! My freaking head hurts! You talk too much!"  
  
Zai Lei giggled even more as Mikira shrieked and collapsed on the floor, twitching a bit. Yestro and Foo Kloo just looked at him exasperatedly and sighed, shaking their heads. Just then, a male Headband Clavat came walking towards them. He saw Mikira, who was still twitching, and burst out laughing.  
  
"Hey! It's Kylith!" Mikira said, getting up on his feet immediately. "Hi Kylith! Did you meet my sister? Her name is Foo Kloo!"  
  
"Do you have to do that every time you see him?" Foo Kloo asked, exasperated.  
  
Kylith just laughed even harder and so did Zai Lei. The only two people in the whole entire village of Zolaria who found Mikira funny were Zai Lei, Mikira's fourteen-year-old girlfriend, and Kylith, Mikira's best friend, who was fifteen. They understood him better than his family, which says a lot.  
  
"Well, Mikira, are you done with your morning spasms?" Kylith asked once he was able to stop laughing. "Can't think of anything else to say?"  
  
"I hate thinking! It makes my head hurt!" Mikira complained, still grinning like an idiot.  
  
"You know, you'd be a pretty good blacksmith," Foo Kloo muttered. "After all, you don't think, you're stupid, and you have a really hard head."  
  
Mikira stared at Foo Kloo for a few seconds, then he yelled, "Aaaagggghhhh! She's evil! Evil, I tell you!" He ran around the tiny village of Zolaria, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Foo Kloo is evil! She's evil, I tell you! Run for your stinking lives! Head for the hills!"  
  
". . ."  
  
"That was disturbing, even for Mikira," Kylith finally said.  
  
"I can't believe that it's him. . ." Yestro muttered under his breath, too quietly for the others to hear.  
  
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"Jeez, Foo Kloo, do you mind telling me why Mikira was running around the village, saying that you were evil, exactly?" Zeh Gatt, Mikira's father asked, a little annoyed.  
  
"I just told him that he should help you with your work," Foo Kloo said, deciding to lie a bit. "No big deal, really."  
  
Zeh Gatt just sighed and said, "I'll never understand him, that's for sure."  
  
"Foo Kloo is evil! Foo Kloo is—ouch!"  
  
". . .That had to hurt. . ."  
  
"Well of course it hurt!"  
  
". . .Genius. . ."  
  
"Am not!"  
  
". . .Who ran into the door?" seven-year-old Momo Phiy asked, running up to Zeh Gatt and Foo Kloo.  
  
As if to answer Momo Phiy's question, Mikira walked inside shakily, rubbing his left eye, which was a bit black. He gave his family his trademark stupid grin, except now two of his teeth were gone, and said, "Hello, people, I come from Alfitaria."  
  
"Do you even know where that is?" Foo Kloo asked, sensing an opportunity to get the better of Mikira.  
  
"Uh. . ." After a few seconds of dazed silence, Mikira said, "Lynari Island?" and collapsed on the floor.  
  
". . .Hopefully that run-in with the door didn't give him a brain concussion," Zeh Gatt muttered, shaking his head.  
  
"Conall Curach!" Mikira suddenly yelled, bolting up.  
  
"Aaaaggghhh!"  
  
". . .What? What!"  
  
"Oh, nothing," Zeh Gatt retorted sarcastically. "Well, I have no idea why Foo Kloo thinks that you'd be great for this. . ."  
  
Mikira stared blankly for a few seconds, then he glared at his older sister. "I hate you Foo Kloo!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Foo Kloo answered.  
  
"I really do!"  
  
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"Mikira, if you don't want to help, then just say so," Zeh Gatt said, thirty minutes after he and Mikira started working in the forge.  
  
"I'm fine, really!" Mikira said, leaning on one of the walls for support. "This place is just. . .um. . .a little too hot! Yeah, that's it!"  
  
"If you think this is hot, then don't go to Leuda." This statement was muttered quietly so that Mikira couldn't hear. "I think that Foo Kloo tricked. . ."  
  
"Hey! I know what I can do!" Mikira said, running towards his father. "Uh. . .what about this?"  
  
"Just make sure you don't lean on the forge or anything like that," Zeh Gatt warned. "Remember what happened last time?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, how could I forget?" Mikira retorted, grinning. "I'm not that much of an idiot, Father!"  
  
About two minutes later, everyone within hearing distance heard a loud and pain-filled, "Yeeeoouucchh!"  
  
"Hey, what happened!" Zai Lei, Kylith, Foo Kloo, Momo Phiy, and Kylith's girlfriend, a fourteen-year-old Dark Coat Clavat girl named Kaori, asked, running towards the forge.  
  
"Err. . ." Zeh Gatt said after a few seconds of silence, "If you guys could get someone who knows how to treat a third-degree burn here, then that'll be great. . ."  
  
"Oh, got it," the five others said, grimacing.  
  
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"Really, how do you manage to get yourself in such stupid situations?" Foo Kloo taunted, giving Mikira an 'I-told-you-so' look. "No one's stupid enough to lean on anything in a forge. . .twice!"  
  
"We can worry about that later," Zai Lei said, a bit irritated. "So. . .how are you feeling, Mikira?"  
  
"Yep! No pain at all!" Mikira tried to lean on his left arm (the injured arm), but he fell back immediately, yelling, "Ow! The pain! The pain! I can't stand the pain. . ."  
  
". . ."  
  
". . .Well, just stay off that arm for a while and you'll be fine," Julia, Kylith's mother, said after Mikira's outburst. "Which hand do you use most?"  
  
"Uh. . ." Mikira thought for a while.  
  
"Oh, never mind!" Gila Moo, Zai Lei's father, said impatiently. Turning to Zeh Gatt, he continued, "He's right-handed, isn't he? Just make sure he doesn't put too much pressure on his left arm."  
  
"Why, is everything all right here?" Yestro asked, stepping into Mikira's house. "I heard about what happened."  
  
"So, are they ready to go?" Davia, Kaori's sister asked. She had been a former caravanner for Zolaria, but retired last year. "Keh Yoo is being stubborn again, isn't he?"  
  
Keh Yoo, Zai Lei's older brother, was the leader of the Zolaria caravan. He, along with two others, a male Clavat named Benton and a female Clavat named Sophie, formed the caravan. They had been on the caravan for five years, two years longer than Davia.  
  
"Actually, they have decided to retire," Yestro responded. Before anyone could protest, the town elder held his hand up and continued, "But I have carefully selected a new group of caravanners to go this year."  
  
"Oh, do tell," Alina, Kylith's sister, said sarcastically.  
  
Brushing off the Clavat's sarcasm, Yestro said, "Since no one else here has really any experience with the outside world, I have chosen eight caravanners this year."  
  
"Hey, am I one of them?" Krstal, a sixteen-year-old Long Hair Clavat, who was also Kylith's ex-girlfriend, asked.  
  
"My, you're quite a mind reader, Krstal," Yestro answered. "Yes, I have chosen you to be part of the caravan. Also, Naira," —the shy, fifteen-year- old, White Cap Clavat rose from her sitting position nervously— "and Zakkai," —a male, Raccoon Tail Selkie who was about thirteen nodded and crossed his arms— "Kylith, Kaori, and Zai Lei" —Mikira's two friends and Kaori grinned happily— "and, of course, Mairith."  
  
Mikira groaned as loud as he could, purposely, and lay back down on the floor. Mairith was Mikira's biggest rival. The sixteen-year-old Bandanna Selkie didn't really bother anyone else, but Mikira, who was quite uneducated in the ways of the Selkies, disliked Mairith's authentic Selkie- like personality.  
  
"I can't believe that he's going," Mikira said loudly and rudely to Kylith.  
  
'Well,' Mairith thought, 'no one ever said that Mikira was smart in the ways of the Selkies.'  
  
"Um. . .Yestro?" Naira asked a bit shyly. "I—I think that you only chose seven people. Didn't you say that you had eight of us in mind?"  
  
"Right you are, Naira," the elder said, smiling. "The leader of the new Zolaria caravan will be Mikira."  
  
A few seconds of dead silence passed. Not even a bird chirped. Then, a minute went by. Then two minutes. Then a loud yell that, surprisingly, came from Mikira.  
  
"There is no way that I'm going with him!" Mikira yelled, pointing at Mairith. "There's no way that I'm going anywhere with a caravan! Make Foo Kloo go instead!"  
  
"Hey, at least you won't miss out on the fun," Kylith said, recovering from his shock. "If you don't go, think about all the fun you're going to miss! Whacking monsters to death and making fun of other caravans!"  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"It'll be a great chance to see the outside world!" Zai Lei suggested.  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"It's better than staying in this lame town for your whole life," Zakkai muttered.  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"We'll be journeying to keep Zolaria alive!" Krstal protested, a little angry. "You should be honored to have been chosen!"  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"Maybe you'll learn a thing or two about real Selkies," Mairith said to Mikira indirectly.  
  
"I! Don't! Care!"  
  
"Eh. . .why did you chose Mikira anyway?" Jun Cui, Zakkai's older brother, asked Yestro. "No offense to him, but, well, eh. . . He's too dumb for this, don't you think?"  
  
"He only acts this way," Yestro answered surely. "I know that he's looking forward to this in truth. Besides, there was no one else who had the skills, much less to be leader."  
  
Mikira stopped yelling for a moment and said, "Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that I'm better than her," —he pointed at Foo Kloo— "and him?" He pointed at Mairith.  
  
"Well. . ." Yestro thought of a way to make his answer sound less offensive and said, "In combat skills and leadership qualities, yes."  
  
"Whoo-hoo!" Mikira jumped up. "Then I'm in! Yippee!" He did a back flip, then landed on his right ankle awkwardly. "I think I sprained my ankle! The pain!"  
  
". . .Sit still, Mikira, this is going to take a while," Julia said, sighing.  
  
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"Well, we're finally ready to go, aren't we?" Kaori asked, coming up to the others with the chalice in hand.  
  
"Yeah," Kylith answered, stuffing a bag of food in the caravan. "Looks like we'll be able to see the outside world, huh?"  
  
"We would've been able to leave sooner if Mikira hadn't been acting like such an idiot," Zakkai grumbled to himself, sitting on a rock.  
  
Kylith and Kaori looked at each other, then shook their heads. Zakkai, being the youngest of the eight caravanners, had the least tolerance out of all of them. Kaori made a mental note to herself to be patient with Zakkai. Kylith made a mental note to himself to remember than Zakkai was only thirteen.  
  
"I think we're ready," Mairith said, checking the caravan to make sure that everything was in place. "Shouldn't Mikira be doing this?"  
  
"Well, he's kind of preoccupied, don't you think?" Krstal retorted sarcastically.  
  
"We're going to bring this stupid town to a ruin because we're not coming back! Haha!" Mikira yelled, standing on the caravan.  
  
"That's—err—very nice," Zai Lei said, not finding this outburst funny. "Can you come down from there? We're ready to go."  
  
"Oh, okay!" Mikira got off the caravan and grinned stupidly.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for! Ye-hah!" Mikira ran out of the town without the others.  
  
"Mikira! The crystal chalice. . ." Naira started.  
  
In less than ten seconds, Mikira came running back. He just shrugged casually and said, "I forgot that there was miasma out there. I'm so stupid!"  
  
"If there was no miasma, then we wouldn't be leaving at all," Zakkai complained.  
  
"What are we waiting for?" Kylith said, repeating Mikira's statement. "The sooner we leave, the better."  
  
"Yah!" Mikira said, taking his spot in the front of the caravan. "Watch out, world! We're the new caravanners from Zolaria and we're full of trouble!"  
  
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A/N: Yai, Mikira's seriously insane, isn't he? Oh well, I like him that way! Kind of gives a refreshing look from caravanners that take their duty too seriously and really are leader-like, huh? Well, anyway, next chapter should be up sometime soon! 


	2. Stupid, Crazy Mikira

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Oh, and as for the three other stories that are counterparts to this, they'll come later. If you guys miss them, then I'll tell you on my next update. But they're kind of hard to miss. The titles are going to be the same, only the name of the town is different.  
  
A/N 2: Oh, by the way, the name of this chapter was inspired by a chapter title of my friend, Nagami Cabasa. Check her out! I love her fic, "We're in Hyrule, Stupid!" If you're a Zelda fan, drop by and give it a lookie! She's working on a sequel as well!  
  
A/N 3: Sorry! But I forgot to mention that there WILL be no familiar cities or myrrh places here. Why? Well, there's a city based on Tipa in this fic and it is NOT Zolaria. Therefore, Zolaria is NOT on The Peninsula, where Tipa is located, and these guys have their own little group of myrrh trees that they can raid. But there might be some familiar caravans.  
  
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Chapter 1: Stupid, Crazy Mikira  
  
It had been about a week since the Zolaria caravanners had set out and they had only covered a few miles. They hadn't met any other caravans yet or encountered any monsters. All eight of them were started to get impatient.  
  
The Zolaria-landers were currently walking down an old road that was to take them to their first stop, Naytron Kanile. Mikira was ahead of the others and the caravan, but still within the chalice's barrier. Kylith and Kaori were in the rear. Mairith was sitting up front, directing the papaopamous and Zakkai was sitting in the back, reading the map. Zai Lei and Naira were in the front, keeping watch for any monsters. Krstal was to the right of the caravan.  
  
"We should've passed Port Zolaria by now," Kaori said to Zakkai. "Do you have any idea where we are?"  
  
"Don't you think that I'm trying to figure that out?" Zakkai snapped. "It's this stupid map! I can't make heads or tails of this!"  
  
"Give me it," Krstal said, irritated. Without waiting for an answer from the young Selkie, she snatched it out of his hands. "Oh, darn, the ink is smeared. Maybe it was from that rainstorm yesterday."  
  
"We still haven't gotten to kill anything!" Kylith complained. "And we haven't seen any other caravans yet!"  
  
"Maybe—maybe we should try to find our way—way back home," Naira suggested shyly.  
  
"No, then they'll know that we can't handle this," Zai Lei disagreed. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't feel like having my brother nag at me for bringing the caravan home already."  
  
"Hey guys!" Mikira said, running up to the others and smiling stupidly.  
  
". . .Where were you?" Mairith asked, annoyed. "You're supposed to be keeping watch, not running off!"  
  
"Yeah! You've got a responsibility now!" Krstal agreed.  
  
Mikira stared blankly for a few minutes, then he said, "Aaaggghhh! Too much pressure! Aaaiiieee!" He collapsed on the floor, twitching.  
  
". . .That's disturbing," Kylith grumbled, stepping away from Mikira like how everyone else had.  
  
"Hello!" Mikira got back up immediately.  
  
"Aaahhhhh!" Everyone fell over from shock.  
  
"Knock it off, Mikira!" Zakkai yelled, irritated already. "Why can't you be a normal leader! Why can't you watch out for goblins or anything that might jump us on the road!"  
  
"I did!" Mikira answered. "I killed everything on the road I saw!"  
  
"You did?" The seven other caravanners raised an eyebrow in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah! Yesterday, I saw a bat, so I killed it!" Mikira said.  
  
". . .Anything else?" Zai Lei asked.  
  
"Nope!" Mikira grinned idiotically. "But I squashed some plants over there! That counts as killing something on the road, right?"  
  
The others sighed and shook their heads. One measly bat, that was the only thing that Mikira had killed in seven days of traveling. The town was destined for doom; it was obvious. With Mikira leading the caravan, they might as well not come back at all. . .  
  
Suddenly, something wet fell out of the sky and struck Mikira on the cheek. "Aaahhh!" he yelled, looking upwards. "Ooh! Rain!"  
  
"Hey, it is raining!" Kaori said, raising her hands to catch the rain.  
  
"Maybe we—maybe we should stop and set camp," Naira said.  
  
"Yeah, we should," Zai Lei agreed, shivering. "I wish I brought a coat or something. . ."  
  
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Later than evening, the eight caravanners had set camp and the rain had stopped about ten minutes after they had finished. Krstal and Mairith had already gone to sleep. Zakkai was still trying to decipher the map, Kylith and Kaori were sitting together, away from the others, giggling. Zai Lei was brushing up on some alchemy and Naira was tending the papaopamous.  
  
"Hey, Naira, have you seen Mikira at all?" Zai Lei suddenly asked, looking up from her studies.  
  
"Not at all," Naira responded. "Why?"  
  
"Well. . ." Zai Lei tried to come up with an excuse. "Well, I was just wondering. You know, knowing him, he's probably off doing something stupid."  
  
"Guess again," Zakkai retorted, not looking up from the map. "He's behind the caravan, sleeping, for once."  
  
"Sleeping?" Sure enough, Mikira was sleeping soundly behind the caravan.  
  
"Well, at least he will be refreshed and ready to go tomorrow!" Naira piped up.  
  
"Yeah. . . The leader guy's sleeping and leaving us with all the hard work," Zakkai grumbled. "He's the one who should be trying to figure this map out!"  
  
"He must be tired. . . He's not exactly the type to go to sleep early," Zai Lei commented. "Are you absolutely sure that he's asleep, Zakkai?"  
  
"Why would he be faking it?"  
  
"Because. . ."  
  
Mikira suddenly woke up that instant and saw Zai Lei, Naira, and Zakkai crowded right in front of him, arguing. "Aaaaaahhhhhh!"  
  
"Aaauuggghhhh!"  
  
Zakkai fell backwards, somewhat paralyzed from shock, Naira gasped for breath, her eyes wide, and Zai Lei was annoyed, surprised, and breathing hard.  
  
"Hey! Why are you guys screaming!" Mikira asked. "You guys are the ones who were going, 'Blah, blah, blah!' when I was trying to sleep! How rude!"  
  
". . .So. . . You were sleeping," Zai Lei said.  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
Naira giggled shyly and walked over to the others. Zakkai glared at Zai Lei crossly and said, "Yeah, well, I guess you don't know Mikira very well, huh?"  
  
"Whatever!" Zai Lei retorted, embarrassed. "Let's just get some sleep! After all, we need to be at full power tomorrow!"  
  
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"Nice day today," Mairith commented, looking up at the clear sky. "Not a cloud in sight. We should be able to reach Naytron Kanile if we pick up the pace. You hear that, guys?"  
  
When he didn't receive an answer, Mairith turned around to see what the others were doing and he sighed. Kylith was yelling in Mikira's ear, trying to wake him up. Kaori was shaking Zai Lei, trying to get her to wake up. Naira and Zakkai were barely awake and they were leaning on the caravan, asleep. Krstal was tying a white ribbon in her hair.  
  
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, Mikira!" Kylith yelled, yanking Mikira's blanket off. "It's time to hit the road and kill some monsters!"  
  
"Come on, Zai Lei, you can't sleep all day," Kaori mumbled, shaking Zai Lei even harder.  
  
"Grr. . . Oh, I know!" Kylith went to the back of the caravan and rummaged around until he found a keg of spring water. He poured the ice cold water right on Mikira, waking him up instantly.  
  
"Aaaauuuggghhhhh! Cold! Cold! It's freaking cold!" Mikira jumped up and ran around the caravan, making sure to stay inside the chalice's barrier. After about a minute, he fell over and stammered, "C-c-cold. . ."  
  
"You make too much of a big deal over things," Krstal muttered, fixing her bonnet. "It's just spring water."  
  
"Mikira, get up!" Mairith yelled, irritated. When Mikira didn't answer him, he continued, "There's a lake over there, you know. And since there's no crystal barrier to protect that water, it's full of miasma. If you don't get up this instant, then I'll throw you in there!"  
  
This got Mikira up instantly. "Hey! I'm the leader of your caravan! You can't throw me into miasma water! Uh. . .so there!" Mikira stuck his tongue out.  
  
"Ugh. . . Kaori, stop shaking me!" Zai Lei muttered in her sleep.  
  
"You have to wake up; it's time to go!" Kaori said insistently, poking Zai Lei with Naira's sword.  
  
"Ouch! Ouch! I'm up!" Zai Lei rubbed her aching side and said, "Did you really have to poke me with a sword?"  
  
"Zakkai! Naira! Quit falling asleep!" Krstal ordered, stomping her foot. "We're going to get flattened by monsters if everyone's not on task!"  
  
"Go tell that to Mikira," Zakkai muttered sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "He's more off-task than the rest of us!"  
  
"We'll be up in a second," Naira answered.  
  
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About ten minutes later, Mikira, Zai Lei, Zakkai, and Naira were ready to go—well, kind of. Mairith, Krstal, Kylith, and Kaori were keeping watch this time because the other four were falling asleep. Mikira was sitting in the front, trying to guide the papaopamous, but mostly falling asleep. Zai Lei was sitting in the back, sleeping. Zakkai and Naira were still trying to decode the map.  
  
"Hello, fellow caravanners!" a voice called out to them.  
  
The Zolaria-landers looked in the direction of the voice. Mikira's eyes widened and he yelled, "Aaaahhhh! Talking, metal, midget monsters!" He jumped on top of the caravan.  
  
"Do you really think you're safe up there?" Kylith asked jokingly.  
  
"Well, I can't run outside the chalice's barrier!" Mikira answered. "I'm perfectly safe up here! Perfectly safe!"  
  
". . ."  
  
". . .You have to pardon our friend," Krstal whispered to the "talking, metal, midget monster" that had spoken to them. "He is an idiot."  
  
"I accept your apology." The armored figure adjusted his weapon and continued, "I am Sol Racht, leader of the Alfitaria caravan. You are the caravan from Zolaria, are you not?"  
  
"Yes, that's us," Kaori answered.  
  
"I've heard that they were sending out a new caravan. You guys seen quite. . .capable. . ." Sol Racht said this last sentence hesitatingly, remembering Mikira's retarded reaction.  
  
"Ooh! So you guys are Lilties!" Mikira said, acting as if he didn't know that—or did he really not know that? "I thought that you guys were talking, metal, midget monsters!"  
  
"Mikira, you idiot!" Mairith hissed quietly so no one else could hear, smacking his forehead, embarrassed. "You make the whole Selkie tribe look bad!"  
  
"Then ignore me!"  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Where are you headed off to?" Sol Racht asked the caravanners, not hearing the two Selkies' argument.  
  
"Well, we're looking for Naytron Kanile," Zai Lei answered, "but our map had gotten smeared by the rain and we're lost."  
  
"Yeah, we should've reached Port Zolaria by now," Zakkai agreed, mumbling. "We've been wandering for about a week!"  
  
"Port Zolaria is just over there," one of the other Alfitarian caravanners said. "It's not that far from here."  
  
"Thank you!" Naira said, trying to hide an embarrassed smile.  
  
"But there are many monsters in that section of area," Sol Racht added. "Proceed with caution."  
  
"Thanks again." Kaori bowed a little. "We'll be careful."  
  
"Hold on!" A moogle dressed in some heavy-looking clothes came waddling up to them. "Hello, my name is Stiltzkin."  
  
"Aw! It's a moogle!" Mikira said, grinning.  
  
". . .Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Mikira," Krstal said.  
  
"If you guys are new to being caravanners, then you'll face many things that you've never seen before," the moogle told them. "I could teach you a thing or two if you want me to."  
  
"No thanks!" Mikira answered before anyone else could. "We could handle this by ourselves!"  
  
"Are you sure?" Stiltzkin asked.  
  
"Well, yeah, I guess," Zai Lei answered. "But thanks for the offer."  
  
"Be careful. You don't want to get in over your heads," Sol Racht warned them.  
  
"We'll be careful," Kylith assured him. "We're new to this, but we're not really arrogant."  
  
"Except for Mairith," Mikira muttered.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Hey, watch out!" Zakkai yelled after striking a goblin down with his racket.  
  
"Hiyah!" Krstal stabbed the goblin that was about to attack her in the stomach. "Thanks, but I could've handled that myself!"  
  
"Whoo! Yeah!" Mikira swung his racket at three goblins wildly, killing them instantly.  
  
"Leave some goblins for me!" Kylith complained, raising his shield to block a blow from one of the goblins. "I'm the one that likes killing stuff!"  
  
"Oopsies! Sorry, Kylith!" Mikira apologized, laughing with fake embarrassment.  
  
Two days after meeting the caravan from Alfitaria, the caravanners had finally reached Port Zolaria. Unfortunately, the road outside the port was crowded with goblins, just like Sol Racht had said. But if there was one area in being a caravanner that the Zolaria-landers were somewhat decent in, it was fighting. Even Mikira was good at fighting. Heck, he was doing the best out of all of them!  
  
Mairith and Zakkai had teamed up on two giant goblins, swinging their rackets and using back flips to avoid strikes. Krstal was taking on a group of tinier goblins by herself. Naira, Kaori, and Zai Lei were trying to take care of the spell casting goblins, which were damaging the group quite a bit. Mikira and Kylith, on the other hand, were just attacking randomly, hitting anything and everything they could.  
  
"Hey!" Kylith had accidentally chopped a piece of Krstal's hair off. "Kylith, if you don't watch where you're swinging, I'm going to—"  
  
"I'm sorry!" Kylith apologized. "Please don't kill me like how you're killing the goblins!"  
  
"Aiyah!" A group of goblins, seeing that Mikira was a very big threat, had grouped up on him and were trying to hit him at once. Mikira just back flipped to kick a giant goblin in the chin and to avoid getting stuck by a smaller goblin's weapon. "Haha! I will be victorious! You can't stop me! Nyah, nyah!"  
  
"Whoa!" Zai Lei raised her racket to avoid getting hit on the head by a spell casting goblin. "Naira, it's casting a spell at you!"  
  
"Oh!" Naira jumped out of the way just as the goblin released a blizzard spell. "Thank you so much, Zai Lei!"  
  
"Ha!" Mairith knocked one of the larger goblins out with a mighty swing of his racket. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."  
  
"Yeouch!" One of the goblins had given Zakkai a really nasty scratch on his right arm. "Oh, bad move! Now I'm really mad!"  
  
"That's the last of the spell casting ones!" Kaori announced as she pulled her sword out of a goblin. "Now we just have to worry about the large ones!"  
  
"Yeah, these little goblins hardly pose a threat!" Kylith agreed jokingly, casually kicking a small goblin away.  
  
"Die!" Mikira started whacking at the larger goblins randomly and crazily. "Hahaha! You shall all die! Hahaha! Die! Die! Die!"  
  
". . ."  
  
"Well, he has the right idea, for once," Krstal commented. "Kill them all!"  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
About five minutes later, the group was resting at Port Zolaria, having dispatched the goblins. Mikira was cheering and running around the group, laughing like an idiot. Zai Lei was sleeping. Naira was looking over Zakkai's injured arm. Kaori was eating a small snack. Kylith and Krstal were polishing their now dirty weapons. Mairith was the one trying to decipher the map now.  
  
"Yay! We won! We won! We're the best! Whoo-hoo!" Mikira yelled, screeching to a stop. "We rule!"  
  
"Yeah, we do!" Kylith agreed, putting his sword down. "We're going to kick more butt when we get to Naytron Kanile!"  
  
"Yeah," Mairith said, looking up from the map. "See here. We just have to go walk straight until we reach the fifth fork in the road. Then we have to go left and then we'll be at Naytron Kanile."  
  
"You deciphered the map!" Zakkai yelled.  
  
"I know."  
  
"What are we waiting for! Let's go!" Mikira declared, punching the air.  
  
"We just fought a lot of goblins!" Kaori, who had finished her meal, complained. She collapsed on the floor tiredly and added, "I need rest!"  
  
"Oh yeah. . ."  
  
"Stupid, crazy, Mikira," Krstal muttered, shaking her head. "Well, we'll get moving tomorrow morning."  
  
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A/N: So they'll go look for myrrh in the next chapter, okay? At least I gave you a battle scene, the Alfitarian caravan, and more insanity in this chapter! Okay, okay, I'll shut up. Next chapter will be up soon! 


	3. Naytron Kanile

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! And since Naytron Kanile is not a real place in the game, I'll try my best to describe it. Just think of it as a cross between River Belle Path and Selepation Cave. Outside, it's like River Belle Path, but near halfway the path, there's a cave opening where the myrrh tree is supposed to be.  
  
A/N 2: If you're wondering why Mikira's such an idiot, it's because I don't want him to be like other caravan leaders in the FF:CC section. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but it gets repetitive if you have a leader who's content on his or her mission, gets the best of the Striped Brigands, is heroic, and all that kind of stuff. I compared two ideas of Mikira's personality: one where he is Selkie-like, quiet, keeps to himself, responsible, etc. Insanity won over; I like him this way! Besides, it gives more importance to the other caravan members, other than just being part of the team. If you haven't noticed, Krstal and Mairith are the invisible leaders. Kylith weighs Mikira's personality. Zai Lei, Kaori, and Naira basically keep the team from losing their patience with each other. And Zakkai is the most on-task. But they do have their faults. . . Especially Mikira. . .  
  
A/N 3: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Mikira's a pyromaniac. Once again, Nagami Cabasa in her story, "We're in Hyrule, Stupid", made her main character half a pyromaniac in that. But Mikira is a pyromaniac for an important reason. It'll be important to the plot. But Nagami did come up with the fire-loving thing first. I'd like to give her some credit!  
  
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Chapter 3: Naytron Kanile  
  
"How many days have passed?" Kaori complained, pausing to rub her sore legs. "It feels as if we've been walking forever!"  
  
"Come on, it's only been three days," Krstal snapped, signaling to Mairith to stop the caravan. "You want to give up already?"  
  
"If we keep on going, then we'll be able to reach Naytron Kanile soon," Zakkai said, glancing up from the map, then looking down again. "We've traveled three-fourths of the distance necessary."  
  
"That is, in understandable terms. . ." Kylith teased.  
  
Zakkai gave his Clavat teammate a chilly glare. "Oh, very funny, Kylith. You know what I mean!"  
  
"I—I could have. . ." Naira trailed off nervously.  
  
"Could have what?" Mairith asked, turning around. "Tell us!"  
  
"My—my brother—he told me that the first sign of Naytron Kanile—grassy areas start to appear more frequently, along with water," Naira answered shyly. "I think—I think the river we passed by a few days ago—it could be part of the Naytron River."  
  
"You mean the one that Mairith threatened to throw Mikira into?" Kaori asked.  
  
"Speaking of Mikira, where is he?" Zai Lei asked, sounding concerned. "It isn't like him to be so quiet for so long. . ."  
  
"Zai Lei, you make a lot of assumptions about Mikira that are wrong! Don't you remember. . ."  
  
"Hey!" Mikira, who was sitting on top of the caravan, yelled out, interrupting Zakkai's train of thought. "I thought I saw something!"  
  
"What? Another bat?" Krstal asked sarcastically.  
  
"It looked like a tree! But it looked weird! It was blue! Or maybe it was green? Or turquoise? No, it was teal!"  
  
Mikira continued to blabber to himself nonsensically, but his fellow caravanners glanced at each other and yelled, "Myrrh tree!"  
  
"If Mikira can see it, then Naytron Kanile must be very close!" Kylith yelled.  
  
"And even if it's not, it won't matter because there's a myrrh tree nearby!" Zakkai added.  
  
"It has to be Naytron Kanile. . . The other myrrh tree around here is way up north, near the Miasma Stream. . ." Zai Lei responded, thinking a bit.  
  
"Who cares? Let's go!" Mairith said.  
  
"Yeah!" The rest of the caravanners took off immediately, forgetting that Mikira was still sitting on top of the caravan.  
  
"Hey! Guys! Slow down! I'm still up here, you know!" Mikira yelled.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Whoa. . ."  
  
"Oh—nice scenery!"  
  
"Gives me the creeps. . ."  
  
"What? Are you scared?"  
  
"Scared? Me? Ha! No! But I do feel a bit chilly. . ."  
  
"Remember? This is just the exterior. There's supposed to be a cave here."  
  
"Yeah, Davia told me about it. The myrrh tree's in the cave."  
  
"Oh, no! Do we have to go inside the cave?"  
  
"Are you scared?"  
  
"Not! Not! Not!"  
  
"Chill out! There's nothing wrong with being scared. . ."  
  
"You guys are so mean! Ugh. . . I think I'm going to hurl again. . ."  
  
The other seven Zolaria-landers sighed a bit as Mikira ran behind the caravan to throw up. Obviously, the wild ride on top of the caravan had its effects on his stomach. . .  
  
"Never thought of you as the type to have a weak stomach," Kylith taunted.  
  
"You guys were going too fast!" Mikira complained. "Ohhh. . . I think I see my life flashing before my eyes. . ."  
  
"If you decide to drop dead now, then you'll miss the killing of everything," Kylith said, putting his hands on his hips.  
  
Mikira was silent for a few seconds, then he screamed out, "What are we waiting for! Let's go!"  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Ack! I almost walked out into the miasma!"  
  
"Like, can you walk any slower!"  
  
"You think you can do any better!"  
  
The Zolaria caravanners had entered Naytron Kanile about ten minutes ago. Zakkai, who was holding the crystal chalice, couldn't help but lag behind the others. Mikira, who didn't take kindly to being confined in the small barriers of the chalice, was running side to side, killing all the monsters that were around. Mairith was picking up magicite and gil before the others could, but leaving scrolls, items, and food for the others to pick up.  
  
"Mairith, pass me stone of Blizzard, will you?" Krstal asked.  
  
"No thanks, I'll keep it," Mairith responded.  
  
"Why you—I ought to—"  
  
"Can't help it! I'm really good at magic!"  
  
"You've got more than one Blizzard magicite! Give me one!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Just shut up you two!" Zakkai complained, dropping the chalice down on the ground. "I'm tired enough already! I don't need to hear your bickering!"  
  
"Let me carry the chalice," Naira said quietly. "I don't mind."  
  
"Well, that's one problem solved," Zai Lei remarked. "Mairith, can't you give Krstal just one Blizzard magicite?"  
  
"I want to cast Blizzaga by myself," Mairith replied sharply.  
  
"Well, you only need three of those to create Blizzaga," Zai Lei answered. "Why don't you just pass one to Krstal and one to Zakkai?"  
  
Mairith seemed content with passing some magicite to Zakkai and dropped a stone of Life for him as well. However, he was less than happy about letting Krstal use magicite. But it was hard to blame him. The minute she received the Blizzard magicite, Krstal turned her attention towards a group of small goblins that hadn't noticed them yet. She signaled to Naira to bring the chalice closer, then she dispatched the goblins by herself, using only a single attack.  
  
"Nice move, Krstal," Kaori said, striking a hedgehog pie with her sword. "These things are annoying. . . They cast fire. . ."  
  
"So do I," Mairith said, holding two fire magicite up.  
  
"Whatever!" Kylith retorted, laughing. "But still, it might be kind of fun to see Mairith or Krstal burst into flames, right Mikira?" Noticing that his friend was silent, Kylith gave the caravan leader an inquisitive look. "What's wrong, Mikira?"  
  
The other six looked at their leader as well. "What's your problem?" Krstal asked exasperatedly.  
  
Mikira suddenly jumped Mairith and started shaking him. "Gimme fire magicite! Now!"  
  
". . .Someone. . .get him offa me. . ."  
  
"Aaahhh! Gimme fire! Fire!"  
  
"I will if you get offa me first!"  
  
About ten seconds later, Mikira got off Mairith and the latter passed some fire magicite to the other Selkie. In a matter of seconds, Mikira was running around the open field, burning everything flammable.  
  
"Augh. . . Jeez. . . Mikira and fire just doesn't mix," Kaori muttered, shaking her head. "Well, at least that'll make him happy."  
  
"Mikira! Come on, let's go!" Zai Lei yelled.  
  
"Okie-yah!" Mikira came running back to the group a little while later, grinning like a complete idiot.  
  
". . ."  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Aaauugghhhh! It's so cold!"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"But it's so cold. . ."  
  
"Well it's not my fault that you Selkies don't wear enough clothing!"  
  
"Krstal, zip it. Please."  
  
"Here, I've got an extra jacket," Mairith said, draping it over Zakkai's shoulders. "Just try to keep up, okay?"  
  
"A-aren't y-y-you co-cold, Mikira?" Zai Lei asked, glancing at him and shivering.  
  
Mikira, however, was running circles around his teammates and burning everything that would catch on fire. His spell casting was nowhere near accurate, but he was surprisingly hitting some crystal torches nearby.  
  
"Mikira, what are you doing?" Kylith asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
"Well, is everyone finished complaining?" Mairith asked, ignoring his leader. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "We really should get moving!"  
  
"Where next?" Naira asked, rubbing her shoulders. They had gotten rather sore from carrying the chalice around the whole time.  
  
"Sore shoulders?" Krstal asked. "Kaori, you carry the thing for a while. Naira needs to rest."  
  
Kaori scowled to herself, a bit annoyed at Krstal's bossiness, but picked the chalice up without an argument. Kylith and Zakkai were staring at the crystal torches; both were thinking very hard.  
  
"Hmm. . . Guys, I think those crystal torches might be there for a reason," Kylith finally said.  
  
"How so?" Kaori asked.  
  
"Well, the path is blocked by crystal gates, right?" Zakkai asked. "Well, maybe if we light all the crystal torches, well, who knows?"  
  
"But what if there's a monster behind those gates?" Zai Lei asked worriedly.  
  
"Oh, don't be such a coward," Krstal grumbled, waving the Selkie girl off. "We're caravanners, for crying out loud. Besides, what would your brother say?"  
  
A rare look of anger crossed Zai Lei's face, but it disappeared so fast that no one caught it. "Well, yes, but I think—"  
  
She was immediately cut off when the caravanners heard creaking and fizzing sounds. Mikira had somehow managed to light all the crystal torches without knowing what he was doing. Just like how Kylith and Zakkai had figured, the crystal gates started going up.  
  
"Whoo! I did something cool!" Mikira cheered. "How did I do it?"  
  
"Who cares? Let's go!" Kaori said, walking inside.  
  
Mikira dashed ahead of the Clavat and Kylith grabbed his shirt, making sure that he didn't run off into the miasma. Krstal, Mairith, Zakkai, and Naira followed the others. Zai Lei just stood at the entrance, nervously.  
  
"Zai Lei, come on!" Krstal said impatiently. "We're not going to stand here all day!"  
  
"It's gonna be butt-kicking time!" Mikira agreed, hyper as usual.  
  
"If you don't hurry up, then we'll leave you in the miasma!" Zakkai said.  
  
"Zakkai! That's not nice!" Naira whispered.  
  
"Ooh. . . Ohh. . ." Defeated, Zai Lei let out a heavy sigh and followed the others.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Dang, this place is a little too quiet, don't you think?"  
  
"Maybe this isn't it. . ."  
  
"No, this has to be it! There were no other ways!"  
  
"Whoo-hoo! Emptiness!"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Shh! Shh! I hear something!"  
  
The other seven caravanners shut up immediately and listened closely until Mikira got bored and yelled, "I'm bored! Can we talk now!"  
  
"Shhh!"  
  
Too late. Mikira's yell had lured the attention of a monster and it came stomping towards them. It looked like a black lizardman and orc hybrid and a spear. It roared and summoned ten orcs and goblins that surrounded the team.  
  
"Oh, nice going, Mikira," Krstal grumbled sarcastically.  
  
"What a fine mess you've gotten us into now," Mairith added.  
  
Zai Lei was silent for a few seconds, then she muttered out, "I just remembered a while ago. . . My brother told me that if I was ever chosen to be a caravanner, then I should try to avoid Naytron Kanile until later. . ."  
  
"You're remembering that now!" Kaori shrieked.  
  
"After we spent about two weeks looking for it!" Kylith added.  
  
"S-sorry!" Zai Lei cried. "But it slipped my mind!"  
  
"Uh. . .guys? If you don't mind—" Mairith started.  
  
"Yes?" Mikira asked sarcastically.  
  
"—we're still freaking surrounded by a horde of goblins now are we going to fight or what!" Krstal demanded.  
  
"Yes ma'am!" everyone except for Mairith and Krstal said.  
  
Immediately, everyone partnered up with someone and went to work. Kylith and Kaori got to work on fighting the goblins. Naira and Zakkai decided to fight the orcs. Mairith and Krstal, although they weren't pleased about it, ended up getting stuck with the job of healing everyone. Mikira and a reluctant Zai Lei were fighting the boss, the spear dragon.  
  
"Wha-ha!" Mikira attacked the spear dragon with an upward strike, stunning it for a moment. "Ha! Too easy! This is nothing to worry about, Zai Lei!"  
  
"I'm not so sure. . ." Zai Lei muttered.  
  
Suddenly, the dragon roared angrily and swiped his spear, knocking Mikira, Kaori, Zakkai, and Krstal away and into the side of the cave. All four were knocked unconscious immediately.  
  
"W-well, I guess it's up to us now. . ." Naira said, gulping nervously.  
  
"It was nice knowing all of you," Kylith added.  
  
"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Mairith snapped, irritated. "We're not going down without a fight! And a fight is what we'll give this thing!"  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Oww. . . My shoulder is so sore. . ."  
  
"I think I twisted my ankle. . ."  
  
"I wanna go home. . . I miss my family. . ."  
  
"At least we got some myrrh. . ."  
  
"Are the others conscious?"  
  
"Aaaiiiieeeee!"  
  
". . .Does that answer your question?"  
  
About ten minutes after Mairith, Zai Lei, Kylith, and Naira defeated the spear dragon, the other four started to regain consciousness. Mikira was the first person awake and the first thing he did was shriek—very, very loudly. He woke up everyone else.  
  
"Mikira! I have enough of a headache! Don't need you to make it worse!" Zakkai said angrily in a whisper, holding his head.  
  
"Are we dead?" Mikira asked a bit stupidly.  
  
Zai Lei pointed at the chalice excitedly. "Look! We collected myrrh! I can't wait to tell my brother!"  
  
"I'm going to tell my sister!" Kaori announced proudly. "We made it through Naytron Kanile alive!"  
  
"Yeah. . . But if Zai Lei forgets to tell us any important stuff, then she won't be alive for long," Krstal said a bit threateningly.  
  
"Oh yeah! In your face, Foo Kloo!" Mikira called out.  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
Miles and miles away from Naytron Kanile, in a distant, tiny town of eight families called Zolaria, a seventeen-year-old Selkie girl named Foo Kloo stopped what she was doing and glanced upwards. "For some reason, I feel like someone who's miles and miles away from here just mentioned me. . ."  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
"Where to!" Mikira asked in a hyper tone.  
  
"You make that decision," Kylith answered.  
  
"Oh!" Mikira paused to think for a while. "Hmm. . . Hmm. . . Hmm. . . Ow! My head hurts! The pain! Make it stop! Make it stoopppp. . ." He collapsed on the floor, twitching.  
  
". . .Well, this is going to take a while. . ." Krstal muttered.  
  
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A/N: End of this chapter! I know, I know it wasn't very good, but sorry! That was the best I could do! Oh, and as for the little part about Foo Kloo in the end, I couldn't resist! You remember that Mikira and Foo Kloo were always bickering! And, well, yeah! I just couldn't help it! 


	4. The Kulinas Caravan

A/N: Thanks for the review, Lee Jun-Fan. And I'll take your advice and work on that the next chapter. I just wanted to write another chapter and get it up, fast. Oh, by the way, my friends and I decided that it'd be easier if we kept all the stories related to this under one account to avoid confusion. But my story, Oracle Chronicles, which I put up recently, will be moved to one of my friends' files later and I'll remove it from my account. If none of them want to work it, then I'll go back to working on it later. But, anyway, here's the next chapter!  
  
A/N 2: Oh, by the way, the caravans from the new Zolaria-related stories will pop up in this story as cameos. There are several same appearances, such as two Wolfie Selkie females, two Headband Clavats, and so on. So I'll list all the differences between the default and the characters.  
  
Zai Lei has a white ribbon in her hair. Kylith's headband is green and yellow. Kaori wears an orange scarf around her neck. Krstal has a white ribbon in her hair, as it was mentioned in chapter 2. Zakkai's hair is a lot shorter, Mairith wears a purple bandanna, and Naira wears a belt with tassels. As for Mikira, he's like the default Wolfie Selkie. But that will change.  
  
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Chapter 4: The Kulinas Caravan  
  
"I don't know where we're going," Zakkai muttered to himself. "I think we're lost again."  
  
"Oh, that's just freaking great!" Krstal grumbled, flinging herself down on the road. "What do we do now?"  
  
"We could—always ask for directions," Naira answered quietly.  
  
"That would be a good idea, but there's no one else out here right now," Zai Lei pointed out. "Maybe we should camp here tonight."  
  
"Yeah," Mairith agreed. "Or we could swing down to Port Zolaria again; we know the way. We could stay there or we could catch a ship to the Tipa Peninsula."  
  
"Are there any myrrh trees there?" Kylith asked hopefully.  
  
"Well, yeah," Kaori answered for Mairith. "And the Iron Mine Downs—we could go there too. But we can't reach the Vale of Alfitaria. The miasma stream is the earth element."  
  
"Sure, we could do that later," Krstal agreed, "after we rest a bit. I'm beat!" She paused for a moment, then said, "Hey, do you think that things are too quiet?"  
  
"You're right," Mairith agreed, puzzled. "Wonder why."  
  
"Hey! Mikira's not here!" Kylith yelled. "He's gone!"  
  
Everyone stood up in a panic and glanced around. Sure enough, their leader was no where in sight. He couldn't have gone too far away from the crystal's barrier, or was he really that stupid?  
  
"Where could he have gone?" Zai Lei asked, completely panicked. "What if he got left behind or something!"  
  
"Then we would've known," Kaori answered, grabbing Zai Lei's shoulders. "He was here about two minutes ago."  
  
"Then where—" Kylith started.  
  
"Yeah, we've already cleared out Naytron Kanile of it's myrrh. We beat you guys! Ha, ha!"  
  
"Oh, shut up. Do you know of any other myrrh trees nearby?"  
  
"Not really!"  
  
"Are you travelling by yourself? You could come with us, if you want."  
  
"I'm on a caravan! Duh! Oh, there they are! Hi Zai Lei! Hi Kylith! Hey, why do you guys looked so shizzed off?" Mikira, of course, was completely oblivious about the temporary panic that he had caused. The young girl he had been talking with stared at the Zolaria caravanners weirdly. The seven other people on the girl's caravan were also staring at Mikira and his friends strangely.  
  
"Where the heck were you!" Kaori shrieked. "We thought that you had been left behind or something!"  
  
"You scared me half to death!" Zai Lei agreed, practically laughing hysterically with relief.  
  
"What kind of leader are you?" Krstal snapped angrily. "And who are these guys!"  
  
"They're from Kulinas!" Mikira added proudly, "And we beat them to Naytron Kanile! Aren't you guys happy!"  
  
"Well, considering the fact that we thought that we lost you or something, no," Zakkai responded.  
  
"Aw! You guys are no fun!"  
  
The girl "ahem"-ed and said, "Pardon for the—interruption—but it's really rude to ignore people."  
  
"Oh! Oh—sorry!" Naira apologized, turning red in the face.  
  
"Ah, I guess we shouldn't complain," the girl continued. She was a Wolfie Selkie who looked around Zai Lei's age. "Anyway, my name's May."  
  
A female Shark Eyes Selkie next to May said, "And I'm Margo. Hello."  
  
"My name's Eli Lin," a Bandanna Selkie behind Margo added. "Nice to meet you guys—I guess."  
  
"Hey, I'm Atlanti!" a Natural Clavat announced.  
  
The Headband Clavat between Eli Lin and Atlanti said, "I'm Blake. Pleasure to meet you all, even though you're kind of rude."  
  
"I'm Xing Li," a Wolfie Selkie wearing a purple scarf tucked into his shirt said quickly before a fight could break out between the two caravans. "And nice meeting you all."  
  
"I'm Hisae," a male Cap Clavat wearing a necklace with the Clavat symbol spoke up. "And this is Pan, my girlfriend." He pointed to a Short Hair Clavat who had the same necklace.  
  
"I'm glad—to meet you all!" Pan said cheerfully.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." May had a bit of an annoyed look on her face. "Anyway, who are you guys?"  
  
"Well, I'm Krstal." The Long Hair Clavat sure was intent on making herself look important in the eyes of these other caravanners. "This is Mairith" —she pointed at him— "and those two are Kylith and Kaori" —Krstal motioned to the two Clavats— "that Clavat there is Naira" —Naira waved shyly and hid her face— "that's Zai Lei and Zakkai" —the two Selkies smiled awkwardly— "and you already know Mikira, our retarded leader."  
  
"Hey! I retract that!"  
  
"It's 'resent'!" Mairith corrected, exasperated. "Jeez, are you two stupid to even use words correctly or what!"  
  
"Who asked you, Mai-rith?" Mikira retorted.  
  
"Oh dear, I'm sorry for starting a riot," May said sarcastically. "Much tension, huh?"  
  
"You'll get used to it if you hang out with us a bit longer," Zai Lei said. "Are you guys setting out for the first time?"  
  
"Yeah, we just left Kulinas about five days ago," Margo answered. "We haven't gotten any myrrh yet, though."  
  
"We decided to not take the old road," Atlanti clarified. "We wanted to see what things were like on this side."  
  
"Heh, it's okay," Kylith responded. "Where are you guys headed?"  
  
"Nowhere, as far as I'm concerned!" Blake answered snappishly. "Our caravan's wheel is busted! Now we're stuck here!"  
  
"We were going to camp here and it's getting pretty close to nightfall," Zakkai said. "You can join us if you want."  
  
"Yay!" Mikira yelled for no reason.  
  
"Shut up, you."  
  
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"Great, I'm stuck with you as a partner, huh?" May asked Mikira when they were keeping guard in the night. "Why couldn't I have been partners with Margo?"  
  
"Margo? Which one is she?" Mikira asked, thoroughly confused.  
  
"She's the other Selkie girl," May answered, exasperated. "Jeez, are you really stupid or something?"  
  
"Maybe, maybe not."  
  
"Oh, never mind."  
  
After a few hours of talking with each other, the caravanners were ready to hit the sack. They had agreed to partner up and keep guard with someone else. Kylith and Kaori had chosen each other, naturally. Pan and Hisae had also partnered up rather quickly. Margo and Eli Lin were hesitant, but they picked each other. Zakkai and Mairith decided to keep watch together. Naira and Zai Lei were partners, Krstal and Xing Li were partners, and Blake and Atlanti were partners. That left Mikira and May with each other.  
  
"Really, though, why couldn't I be stuck with someone else?" May continued, kind of oblivious to Mikira. "Like Margo or Xing Li, or even Atlanti or—"  
  
"How about that stupid romantic kid Hisae?" Mikira asked, grinning idiotically.  
  
"Yeah, of course!" May paused for a while, then said, "Hey! Don't you dare call him stupid!"  
  
"But he's so romantic, it's sick!" Mikira complained. "Bleagh!"  
  
"You have a girlfriend, don't you talk that way with that girl—what was her name?—Zai Lei?" May questioned.  
  
"Nopers!"  
  
". . .You're weird, you know that?"  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
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"Isn't it almost time for Krstal and Xing Li to keep watch?" Mikira whined.  
  
"Ugh. . . Maybe. . ." May yawned and said, "Why do we need to keep watch anyway?"  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
May sighed and Mikira continued to blabber on about random stuff. The two leaders were feeling pretty secure right now. Mikira finally shut up and lay down on his blanket, practically falling asleep. May sat up and grumbled about how life was unfair. Yep, the two of them were feeling so secure, they didn't notice the two orcs that were sneaking up on them.  
  
"Hiyah!" Mikira had suddenly picked his Aura Racket up and smacked one of the orcs on the face with it. The orc had been very close to dealing the male Wolfie a seriously fatal blow. "Hey, May, looks like we're not alone!"  
  
"Huh?" May grabbed her Aura Racket and glanced around. "There were more that two orcs; there were at least five! "You're right! But—hey—that girl, Krstal, told me that you were stupid! How could you have known—" May shook her head. "Never mind. Just fight these things!"  
  
The five orcs surrounded Mikira and May and brought their shields in front of them to avoid any strike from the two Selkies, who were back-to-back and had their rackets out in front of them to block the orcs' attacks. The standoff continued for quite a while until one of the orcs decided to quit waiting around and charged at Mikira. Bad move; Mikira whacked it in the face with his racket immediately.  
  
"Nice going!" May took advantage of the other orcs' distraction and used a back flip to jump on top of one. "Now we're seeing action!"  
  
"Hyah! Ha! Hwa!" Mikira swung his racket around continuously, leaving no open area to get struck in. "You won't beat me!"  
  
"Over here! Too fast for you?" May had landed on an orc and she struck it on the head with her racket, hard, taking it out of the battle for good. "Hey Mikira, I got one!" She stared exasperatedly with her mouth open when she saw Mikira fending them off jokingly. "Knock it off! Let's just finish this battle!"  
  
"Aw! You're no fun either!" Mikira whined.  
  
May shrugged blandly and charged at another orc, hitting it in the stomach as hard as she could. Mikira bashed the other three orcs on the head, killing two of them. May struck the orc that she was fighting so hard, her racket actually went through it. She yanked it out and was about to ask Mikira if he had finished the last one off, but then she heard a loud shriek that could only belong to Mikira. She whirled around to see if he was hurt, but was stopped as she saw ten goblins and two ogres walking towards the caravans from behind the bushes. Krstal and Xing Li were waking up and they grabbed their weapons.  
  
"May! Krstal!" Mikira yelled. "I—"  
  
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A/N: Yeah, that's the end. Ha! Finally, I made a good cliffhanger! So what's wrong with Mikira? How can they beat ten goblins, two ogres, and an orc? Okay, in the game, in cycle one it would be easy, but these guys are novices and pretty pathetic, no matter how good they are at fighting. Sorry this is so short, but this chapter is only supposed to focus on the Zolaria guys meeting the Kulinas peeps. I'll write soon later! 


End file.
